Accolade Publishing
Celebrating 25 years of
FOUR LUCKY LADIES GET TOP AWARDS FOR COMPING
The editors of Competitor’s Companion, the UK’s number one competition newsletter, have just announced the winners of their special awards for excellence in comping. The awards have been arranged to mark the 25th anniversary of Competitor’s Companion. Joint editor Steve Walker says: "We’ve chosen four very talented compers to receive our anniversary awards. They’ve each honed their comping skills into a fine art – we salute them!"
Lynne Hargreaves, Lancashire
The Special Award for Achievements in Comping goes to Lynne Hargreaves, 45, from Lancashire. Lynne enters 25 competitions a day and since 1988 has won (amongst numerous other prizes) £177,000 in cash, over £4,000 in gift vouchers and 22 holidays. Steve says: "We had no choice but to pick Lynne for the top award as we have more pictures of her and her prizes at the magazine than we have of our own family! Her achievements are incredible."
Lynne says: "A lot of people think comping is a con or that you are just lucky if you win. It’s not luck – you’ve got to enter a lot of competition so that you’ll always have a good chance of winning. My advice is simple – persevere. It may take 12 months before you win but don’t worry, just enter as many as you can."
Dee Billing, Herts
The Slogan Writer Award presented to Dee Billing, 58, from Hertfordshire, who is an expert at word play. Her tried and tested formula for slogan writing has won her hundreds of prizes and taken her some of the world’s most luxurious holiday destinations. Steve says: "Most people think writing a slogan is beyond them, but Dee’s proved that isn’t really the case. She’s spotted the fact that fewer people are prepared to make the effort to think up slogans, so there’s less competition to win great prizes."
Dee says "You just sit down with pen and paper and look at both the product and the prize and jot down all the thoughts that come into your head – even better if you can find a link between them – and so much the better if you can come up with a product-praising effort that rhymes. Personally I’m more keen on the short, sharp, witty sentence completions – but it is usually a rhyming tiebreaker that grabs the prize".
Barbara Williams, Merseyside
The Holiday Comper Award to Barbara Williams, 62, from Merseyside. She focuses on holiday competitions because she is now retired and has the time to travel the world. She’s won 14 holidays to date. Steve says: "Barbara has travelled the world but gets just as much pleasure giving her wins away. Comping really can make your dreams come true."
Barbara says, "My family call me the Holiday Comper as I seem to win more of these prizes than any other. I have tried to win other things – like white goods and kitchen equipment – but I’ve never won anything. So I focus on holidays and, because I’m now retired, I have got the time to travel."
Anne Cooper, Oxfordshire
The Strategic Thinking Award goes to Anne Cooper, 50, from Oxford, who is not called a clever comper for nothing. She knows exactly which competitions to enter, and when, to elevate her chances of winning. Steve says: "We like Anne. She’s used her head to increase her chances of winning and that’s what it’s all about."
Anne says: "You soon learn to look for unusual competitions that will attract lower entry levels, like ones that ask you to write a short story. For some of the unusual ones you need to do some research on the internet. You can also find competitions in odd places – I entered several recently at the Birmingham Motor Show."
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